Squeeze bottle dispenser



Nov. 5, 1968 J. E. 'MCDONNELL SQUEEZE BOTTLE DISPENSER Filed July 18,1966 46 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,409,181 SQUEEZE BOTTLE DISPENSER John E.McDonnell, Port Washington, N.Y., assignor of seventy-five percent toKenneth G. Lehmann, Easton, Conn. Continuation-impart of applicationSer. No. 560,681,

June 27, 1966. This application July 18, 1966, Ser.

11 Claims. (Cl. 222-211) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A self-closingsqueeze bottle dispenser having a dip tube extending from its neck tothe bottom wall, said bottom wall normally abutting and sealing thebottom end of the dip tube when the dispenser is not being used. Whenthe side walls of the bottle are squeezed, the bottom valving wall movesaway from the bottom end of the dip tube whereby the liquid product canbe forced out through the tube.

This invention relates to dispensers, and in particular to dispensersmade of plastic squeeze bottles.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending applicationSer. No. 560,681 filed on June 27, 1966, now abandoned, and having thesame title.

An object is to provide a squeeze bottle dispenser having the fewestparts, and a dispenser that is economical to manufacture, Another objectis a dispenser that does not leak. Another object is a dispenser whichwill discharge all the liquid, which will stand upright, and is easilyand unmistakably operated. Another object is a dispenser that will notleak When it is tilted upside down, or in other positions, using asqueeze bottle that can be made by plastic vacuum forming or blowmolding. A feature is that the dispenser is always reliable. is noteasily refilled or likely to clog, and readily seals securely. Thedispenser can use different liquids, and can be a throw-away dispenseras it has a low cost.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art when thefollowing description is read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a section on the axis of a squeeze bottle dispenser embodyingthe invention in one form.

FIG. 2 is a section cut through line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is like FIG. 1 but it shows the bottle being squeezed,discharging liquid.

FIG. 4 is a section on the axis of another squeeze bottle made by theinvention. The bottle after being made in plastic is being put through asmoothing operation.

FIG. 5 is a section on the axis through the neck of a dispenser whichhas the bottle of FIG. 4.

The no-leak dispenser in FIGS. 1-3 has a squeeze bottle which hasdepressible or squeezable side walls 12 that can be pressed inward, seeFIG. 3. The bottle 10 is made in accordance with the present invention,generally stated, so that it has a valving wall 14 that will moveoutward or downward when the walls 12 are pressed inward. The valvingwall 14 is the bottom of the bottle 10, although it can be any otherwall that moves outward whenever another wall is pressed inward, inresponse to inward pressure.

What cooperates with the valving wall 14 is a discharge or dip tube 16,such a tube having a bottom inlet end 18 and an inlet opening 20. Theend 18 is normally sealing against the valving wall 14, see FIG. 1. Bymeans of the invention, when the walls 12 are squeezed together like inFIG. 3, the valving wall 14 is moved down or out and it uncovers orunseals the inlet opening 20 of the tube 16. Then the liquid 22 in thebottle 10 can be forced up through the tube 16 for discharge from thetube cap.

When the pressure applied by the fingers is removed from the bottle 10,the valving wall 14 shifts into sealing engagement with the end 18 ofthe tube 16. The valving wall normally prevents passage of liquidthrough the tube 16 when engaged as in FIG. 1.

I To get out of the bottle 10 the last amount of liquid 22, and to havea good base on the bottle for standing it upright, the wall 14 has ribsas in FIG. 2, making interior grooves 24. The underside of the bottomwall 14 shows ribs 25. Looking at FIG. 2, the wall 14 shows a number ofpie-shaped lands or raised areas 26 between the grooves 24. At thecenter of the'wall 14 there is a shallow central frusto-conical well 28,where the inlet end 18 of the tube 16 is located. The well 28 is a valveseat for the end 18. Because the walls of the well 28 slope, they wedgethe end 18. This makes a tight seal with little force needed.

FIGURES 2 and 3 show that the radially inner tips of the lands 26 areguiding surfaces that nest the end 18 of the tube 16. The end 18 isalways therefore in a central position, even when disengaged from thewall 14. In FIG. I the wall is generally flat, but in FIG. 3 it isconvex downward or concave upward. In FIG. 3 the liquid 22 will runthrough the grooves 24 into the well 28 so the last amount is used. Theclearance space in FIG. 3 between the bottom end 18 of the tube 16 andthe wall L14 is greatly exaggerated, for clear viewing. Actually, thespace between the wall 14 and the bottom of the tube 16 can be five orten thousandths of an inch or so. This makes it possible to dischargeall of the liquid. The liquid 22 will run in the grooves 24 to the well28 as the bottle gets empty. From the grooves 24, the liquid can allcollect in the well 28 and then go out through the tube 16, moving up tothe cap 30.

Because of the bulging shape of the side walls 12, the squeezing ofthese, which tends to straighten them, will automatically cause thebottom valving wall 14 to move away from the tube 16. Only a littlemovement is needed to let the liquid 22 flow upward in the tube 16 andout the bottle 10.

In FIGS. 1 and 3 the discharge cap 30 is carried by the top of the tube16. This cap has a horizontal discharge bore 32 in which the liquidtravels to the orifice 34. The tube 16 is rigid in the neck 36.

The tube 16 can be very small, and also the bottle 10, making a one-shotdispenser. The tube I16 is called a capillary tube.

When the bottle 10 is made of plastic, the valving wall 14 is made withan upward convexity, see FIG. 4. Here the container 10a is like thecontainer 10 but it has a larger neck 36a. Corresponding parts of thebottle 10a have similar numbers but with suffixes a. In FIG. 4 thebottle 10a when upright can rest on the four bottom ribs 25a, whichtouch the reference plane P. In FIG. 1, the bottom ribs 25 rest on atable T or similar surface.

After forming the bottle 10 or 10a, a smoothing operation is used tomake the hole of the neck very smooth, and also to make the bottom ofthe well 28 very smooth so that good seals are made with the tube 16.The smoothing is done by a forming tool 40 in FIG. 4. The tool 40 is amandrel with a sizing head 42 slightly larger than the hole of the neck36a and with a smoothing bottom surface 44 slightly smaller than thewell 28a. When the proper parts of the bottle 10a are warm and soft, theinserted mandrel 40 will do the forming. An anvil 46 can engage theexterior of the bottom wall 141: to back it up. The mandrel surface 44appliespressure to the bottom of said well 28a to smooth it, and thesizing head 42 smooths out the hole in the neck 36a. The mandrel 40 canturn and be heated fairly hot.

See FIG. 5. A plastic stopper 48 is pressed in the neck 3 36a of thebottle 10a and supports the tube 16a. The tube 16a can be made of innerand an outer plastic tube fitted together to provide stifiness withoutrequiring great thickness of the walls of the individual tubes. Thestopper 48 has a spray orifice 50.

A plastic shrink seal membrane 52 can be applied over the cap 48'andneck 36a of the bottle 10a. to prevent leakage or evaporation duringshipping and shelf life. The consumer tears off the shrink membrane 52before using the dispenser.

With the normal position of FIG. 1, the force of gravity can never causethe liquid 22 to leak out. If the bottle is turned upside down, theliquid will be at the neck 36, so it still cannot run out through thetube 16. Also, the tube 16 is sealed by the valving wall 14. If thebottle is on a side, the liquid 22 by filling somewhat less than half ofthe bottle, will still have a level that is below the opening of thetube 16. Under al circumstances, gravity cannot make the liquid run outthrough the tube. An additional safeguard is that the opening 20 isclosed by the valving wall 14 most of the time.

In FIG. 1 the valving wall 14 presses hard against the bottom end of thetube 16 because when the bottle 10 is made, the valving Wall 14 is veryconvex, like in FIG. 4. In FIG. 1 the tube 16 is pressing hard againstthe valving wall 14 and has straightened or flattened the wall. Thestrong pressure causes a good seal.

This squeeze-bottle dispenser is very simple and effective, and has aparticularly simple closure valve to prevent leakage. No leaks occur,besides, when the bottle is partly filled to a level less than half. Theseams in the neck and well are ironed out by the qualifying operationseen in FIG. 4. A tight press-fit is made between the tube .16 and theneck 36, or between the tube 16a and the cap 48 which has a tight fitwith the neck 36a. Leakage is mostly eliminated, as a rule.

The side wall 12, see FIG. 2, has finger hollows 55 and bumps 56. Theseact as grips and tell the user that he is holding the dispenser right,for pointing the spray away from his arm.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that manymodifications will present themselves to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A squeeze bottle dispenser for liquids which includes a squeezebottle having a top neck portion and a depressible wall which can bepressed inward, and having a bottom wall to stand on, and a dischargepassage means including a dip tube extending from the bottle neck portion downward to a point near the bottom wall to receive the liquid fromthe bottom of the bottle and discharge the same, said bottom wall of thebottle being imperforate and exposed to the dip tube and to the entireinterior of the bottle, said bottom wall comprising a valving wall whichmoves outward when the depressible wall is pressed inward, and valvemeans for controlling the flow of liquid through the discharge passagemeans, said valve means being normally closed by the valving Wall andbeing opened when the valving wall moves downwardly, said valve meansincluding a valve part directly engaging and abutting said bottom walland having force exerted on it by the bottom wall when the valve meansis in the closed condition.

2. The article set forth in claim 1, in which the dip tube constitutesthe said valve part, said tube having an inner inlet end with an inletopening that is normally in direct sealing engagement with the bottomvalving wall of the bottle, said valving wall uncovering and unsealingsaid inlet opening when the wall moves outward as the depressible wallis pressed inward whereby liquid in the bottle can be forced out throughthe dip tube for discharge, said valving wall normally preventingpassage of liquid through the tube when engaged across the inner end ofthe tube.

3. The article set forth in claim 2, in which the bottom wall of thebottle has inward projections disposed around the inlet end of thedischarge tube, for holding the end against side movement.

4. The article set forth in claim 2, in .which the bottom wall of thebottle has a well in which the discharge tube is received and whichcollects most of the last portions of the liquid in the bottle.

5. The article set forth in claim 4, in which the bottom Wall hasgrooves in it, leading to said well.

6. The article set forth in claim 5, in which the grooves in the bottomwall are formed by exterior ribs, on which the bottle can rest.

7. The article set forth in claim 2, in which the bottom wall of thebottle tends to be convex upward, said tube pressing the bottom walldownward.

8. The article set forth in claim 2, in which the depressible Wall isthe side wall of the bottle, said side wall bulging outward and havingfinger hollows, said side wall having bumps at corresponding edges ofthe hollows to indicate the front of the dispenser.

9. The article set forth in claim 1, in which the dip tube is of plasticsubstance and is made of inner and outer separate tubes fitted togetherso that there is stiffness without requiring thickness in the Walls ofthe individual tubes.

10. The article set forth in claim 4, in which the Walls of the Well aresloped and wedge the end of the discharge tube to elfect a tight sealtherewith while using little force.

11. The article set forth in claim 1, in which the valve means isdisposed at said valving bottom wall and at the bottom end of said diptube and is actuated by said bottom wall, for controlling the flow ofliquid through the bottom end of said dip tube in response to movementof the bottom wall as effected by operation of the depressible wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,805,795 9/1957 Barnes 222464 X3,161,330 12/1964 Sagarin 222464 X 3,221,945 12/1965 Davis 222211 X3,241,727 3/1966 Heckman 2222l3 ROBERT E. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

F. R. HANDREN, Assistant Examiner.

